The Northern STS facility has a series of video projection screens that can be used to project a number of training scenarios or targets for students to shoot a variety of simulated guns at. This is the kind of training system that you often see police using to practice shoot / don’t shoot scenarios.

This is without a doubt a very cool training tool and it can be a lot of fun.

They also have a very nice classroom which is good because not all firearms training involves shooting. A good part of it involves listening to and learning from instructors.

The part of Northern STS that I really like though, is the shoothouse they have designed and built to be used for training with airsoft guns.

Given that my team focuses primarily on CQB, having a facility that is designed specifically to train and practice that skill set is pretty fantastic.

Northern STS has done a good job with the layout of their shoothouse. It offers a variety of differently shaped rooms and hallways with a variety of doors windows and furniture to deal with. They have even constructed a door that can be breached mechanically. Which is something that, at least for those of us in the GTA area, is pretty rare.

All in all this is a pretty great facility with very helpful staff. I definitely recommend that you check it out.

That pretty much covers the facility where the seminar was held. So next I want to write about Brake Tactical Training Solutions.

Again I’ll let them describe themselves in their own words.

“Brake Tactical Training Solutions provides realistic and attainable solutions for the enhanced training needs of law enforcement agencies, military units, armed security professionals, private security companies and like-minded citizens. FIREARMS and USE OF FORCE courses, as well as workshops and seminars are offered in-depth and at various levels of applications. If you personally, or your agency are seeking external training to go above and beyond traditional minimum training standards and to improve upon over-all performance, then BTTS is ready to assist you with solutions to achieve your goals. Consulting is also available for court purposes.”

Mike Brake is the head instructor and owner of Brake Tactical Training Solutions. He is retired from the Toronto Police Department where he was a member of the Emergency Task Force, (SWAT). Before that he served in the Canadian Army. So he has a solid background upon which to draw.

I enjoyed Mike’s approach to teaching. He presented us with problems and watched how we solved them. Then we discussed why we solved them in the way we did, and he provided us feedback on that. He then showed us other ways to address those problems while explaining the logic behind those methods.

I found that made it very easy to learn and understand the various techniques he showed us and the reasoning behind them.

His communication and demonstrations were very clear and easy to understand. Which I believe is a very important attribute for an instructor to have.

I would without a doubt recommend Brake Tactical Training Solutions as a resource if you are looking for training.